What would happen if the United States suddenly stopped building walls and instead flung open its borders, not unlike the European Union has done among the member countries of the common market? Conservatives malign the notion and liberals, even radical ones, haven’t exactly embraced the “open borders” concept.

But the idea isn’t as radical as it may seem. For most of its history, the United States has had, for all practical purposes, open borders, according to University of San Francisco law professor Bill Hing.

“Really, the United States was an open-border situation, worldwide, up through the early 1900s — except for Asians,” Hing told The Huffington Post. “There were Asian-exclusion laws. But if you put that aside, it was open borders for the rest of the world.”

Here are 16 reasons why opening our borders makes more sense than militarizing them. Let us know what you think in the comments.

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President Trump at Homeland Security for Swearing-In and Executive Orders. President Trump signed two executive orders on immigration including one that calls for the immediate construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.